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Night of Fighting
The Night of Fighting was a series of combative fights that took place within Madison Square Garden, New York City on May 15 of 1995. Seven fights took place that night, each one within a different weight division. The Beginning Following the Newlandish broadcast of the documentary Hestrova: A Nation of Fists in May of 95, many Newlandish were upset over comments made by several of the Hestrovan fighters, particularly those made by former fighter and promoter Tanu. The comments centered heavily around the fighters beliefs that Hestrovans were the only one's capable of winning their native tournaments and beating their fighters, naming several countries including Newland, who would have no chance against them. The first major professional athlete to comment of these comments and beliefs was the current Cruiserweight Champion of the World Boxing Association at the time, Spencer Holland. Holland verbally insulted Tanu, stated that Newlandish were true fighters and challenged Tanu to a bout within the Hestrovans native style. Tanu responded to Holland, stating that if the Newlandish were "true fighters" than it would be best to prove it. Tanu proposed a night of seven fights, each within a different weight division, Newlandish against Hestrovans, within the Talkarugu style of fighting. Hollad accepted the challenge and word was put forth but both Holland and the heads of the WBA to fighters and martial artists throughout Newland. Organizing the Night The fights were organised to take place on the 15 of May of the same year and would be held in Madison Square Garden. Seven fighters were chosen for the agreed seven weight classes: * Shawn Walter - Welterweight (Above 140 & up to 147 pounds) * Louis Cain - Super Welterweight (Above 147 & up to 154 pounds) * Hector Valasquez - Middleweight (Above 154 & up to 160 pounds) * Martin Floyd - Super Middleweight (Above 160 & up to 170 pounds) * Jason Tanner - Light Heavyweight (Above 170 & up to 180 pounds) * Spencer Holland - Cruiserweight (Above 180 & up to 200 pounds) * Samuel Wyndol - Heavyweight (Over 200 pounds) Each bout would consist of three 5 minute rounds and would be fought within the Hestrovan style of Talkarugu. Victory would be obtained by way of: * Decision * Disqualification * Knockout * Submission * Technical Knockout Illegal moves consisted of: * No groin attacks * No eye gouging * No fish hooking * No fingers in an opponent's orifices * No biting The fighters from Hestrova were: * Daka * Floba * Woku * Toko * Limi * Kotar * Rudu The Lead-Up On the 28th of March, a live televised segment was broadcast on Newlandish channels. The broadcast was Tanu's official unveiling of his seven selected fighters. He introduced each fighter and gave an overview of what had been discussed in regards to how the fights would be structured and carried out. He also stated that due to his beliefs, the same beliefs which had started the whole series of events leading up to the fight, his chosen fighters were not among the elite of their countries combatants, believing fighters who weren't the best would still win. Tanu's choice of fighters led to heavy criticism from not only the Newlandish public and media but from people around the world. Most, if not all of the criticism, was due to the selection of two women as part of the team of fighters. Though it had never been agreed upon that all 14 fighters had to be men, it was naturally assumed by most. For allowing women to compete against male fighters, even if they were professionals, many painted Tanu and the Hestrovan people as fools and people unconcerned about the women. Spencer Holland and Cain Velasquez, whose opponents were the female fighters Woku & Kotar, were completely against fighting women and demanded Tanu find two men to replace the two women. Tanu refused and said the two women had accepted the offer to fight and were already training. They themselves said they were serious about fighting and had no problems fighting men. Holland and Velasquez eventually accepted the facts and told their opponents to not get upset when they lost. First Conference The first press conference featuring all fourteen fighters took place on the 18th of April, the day after the Hestrovans arrived in Newland. Most of the Newlandish fighters were verbally confident and derogatory to the Hestrovans. In contrast, the Hestrovan fighters were very reserved and simply said they were taking their training and the fights seriously. Woku and Kotar, who undoubtedly were the receivers of most of the media coverage and attention, were asked if they had any reservations in regards to stepping into the ring with professional male athletes. Both women simply stated that they had competed against many men throughout their fighting careers, revealing that the tournaments were not gender specific, but rather focused on weight divisions. They had not only fought men but had beaten men. Photo ops were taken following the conference. The mixed gender match ups were particularly tense. During their photos, Holland smacked Kotar's ass as she turned to walk away. Kotar headbutted Holland who fell backwards to the floor. Security separated the two parties before things got worse. During their stay in New York, the Hestrovans divided up their time between training and being shown around the state and it's cities. Most outings were good, with the foreigners generally attracting positive reactions and intrigue. Second Conference The second press conference took place on May 1. This conference followed the first one in regards to questions asked, answers provided and the actions of the fighters. The photo ops however were different with hands being kept to themselves. Weigh-In The official weigh-in took place the day before the scheduled date, on the 14 of May. All fighters made weight. Fight Night Attending the event were many high profile celebrities and wealthy individuals from not only Newland but from around the world. The Hestrovan team were introduced first at 7PM and simply walked down towards and into the ring, without any music, lights or pyrotechnics. The Newlandish fighters however emerged accompanied by all three. They was noticeable booing and slurs directed towards the Hestrovans while for the Newlandish the audience were all cheers and hooray's. Individual introduction were made for each fighter before returning to the locker rooms. At 7:30PM the matches began and went as follows: Several minutes after the last bout, the Hestrovan team stood on the stage and received their declaration of victory. Their celebrations were however cut short by verbal abuse from many of the audience members. As the team attempted to leave the area they were bombarded with rubbish. All seven fighters then proceeded to go after those who had assaulted them, rushing into the stands and physically beatings those who had thrown the rubbish.By the time security and the Hestrovan teams associates were able to calm down and get them back to the locker room, 18 people had been attacked, 5 of which had to receive medical attention from onsite paramedics. Following the fight a press conference was held. The Hestrovans were first to be interviewed. All seven appeared calm and not short of breath. Tanu stated that his fighters had won because of several reasons. Firstly, they wanted the victory more. Secondly, they trained harder and for longer than the Newlandish fighters. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the Newlandish fighters were not "mixed fighters", meaning each one relied too heavily on one style or only used one style during their fights. The Hestrovans however had extensive training and experience in fighting in the Talkarugu style, which encompasses techniques and moves from various styles. During the Newlandish interview, most of the fighters kept their words to a minimum. Spencer Holland stated that if he and the others had of had more time to train they would of have wiped the floor with the Hestrovans. Following the Night Replying to Hollands words, Tanu proposed another collection of fights, only this time the Newlandish fighters would have a year to train, perhaps even more. He did not however wish any of the fighters who had fought to fight again, and instead insisted on choosing fourteen new fighters. An agreement was struck between Tanu and Craig Fullson, a noted magician, gambler and actor who had in recent years dabbled in fight promotion. Fullson was given one year to select seven fighters and to train them for the upcoming fights, which would be held in the capital city of Hestrova, Ress.